SIBLING CHRISTMAS

My sister Dawn spent Christmas with her immediate family in Chico and drove the three hours to my house on Dec. 28th. Brother Norman is my homeless brother and we all get together once a year at Christmas.  Norman is very political and shared all of the letters he has written to various newspapers and congress-people. We played Rummikub endlessly, it seemed with much fun and hilarity.

Yesterday, the rest of the family arrived, Clark, Bill, and Theresa, Clarks Finance. Bill lost his bid for congress. Without my glasses on, I didn’t realize I caught everyone with their mouths full.

We don’t exchange gifts, but Dawn bought me a shirt she couldn’t resist.

She knows I’m an avid fan of Downton Abbey. Mary from Downton Abbey is the figure on the right. If you don’t know the program, well, it may be hard to understand. We had a lot of fun, remembering the program which is set to begin a third series January 16th. I will miss it because I’ll be on the road with Jim.

 

 

We talked politics and solved the problems of the world in four hours. We reminisced about being raised with politics at dinner every night when we were growing up. We all have different solutions, it seems. We talked about our thinning ranks.

Dawn reminded me she will be 80 years old on her next birthday.

Norman is 66. Bill is 75. Clark is the youngest at 57. We’ve lost two brothers, Mark and Dan. So, we remember them and tell family stories. There is always a new one not everyone has heard before.  It is time well spent. Today, I un-decorate and say good-bye to another eventful year as I close the house, (mostly the refrigerator) and pack my bags and prepare to meet Jim. (Maybe I can hide the five pounds I put on over Thanksgiving and Christmas.)

 

FAMILY CHRISTMAS

We celebrate Christmas in waves. First comes Christmas Eve with the immediate family. My kids and grandkids. Always fun.

Daughters, Laurie and Kris, chatting over a glass of wine.

An unusual event, sharing new tattoos. Son Ken at 51 surprised all of us with his first tattoo.

Grandson Alec with his first tattoos.  He also has one on a thigh and the backs of his biceps. Hmmm! I’ve been thinking…no, not really.

We had a guest from Northern Italy, an exchange student by the name of Emil, who fit right in. We played a loud game called Pass Phrase, I think that was the name of it. All ages could play. It was loud and raucous.

Dinner was unusual as well, with smoked pheasant that Ken bagged during his recent hunt. Very tasty, replacing the usual turkey or ham or beef.  We had paella, a green salad, butternut squash and spinach souffle.

After dinner, we opened our gifts, which for the adults is an anonymous book draw. Each person buys a book, wraps it without any tags and puts it under the tree. The books are drawn by number allowing you to keep the book you’ve drawn or steal one from another person. Son Doug turned his book into a scavenger hunt, giving clues around the house for whomever chose his package, which was a 13 clue, fun, mystery enjoyed by all.

The grandkids kept company as the younger generation does, with their fingers texting away.

I finally understood that they do communicate with each other and texting isn’t such a dissociative practice.  I saw plenty of interaction besides the texting. It is no different than me talking to someone and taking notes. It was an eye opener for me.

And there was plenty of time for interaction between generations, with Stewart and Austin wrestling. It rained and rained. Kris wanted to take her exchange student to see the snow and big trees. They got turned away at Forest Meadows without chains. Timing is everything.

We celebrate on Christmas Eve. Played cards until the wee hours. Then, the next morning, we set up my computer and  skyped with Virginia and her family who are in Pisciotta, Italy with her husband’s sister who has a four-month old baby.

It was a calm Christmas, quiet. Between downpours, we walked the dogs, five of them,  and  nibbled and gamed the day away. I hope everybody had a happy Christmas.

Season’s Greetings

Christmas Day finds me with the motorhome at the Tropic Winds RV Resort hiding out from the cold weather in Harlingen, Texas. Are you having a White Christmas? I’m not. Yesterday was 83 degrees…84 forecast for today. It’s the primary reason I’m here.

I do not consider myself a superstitious person, but for many years I’ve considered the number 17 my unlucky number. True or not, year 17 of my full-time RVing lifestyle concluded two days ago. If you are a regular follower of this Blog, you know year 17 was the year  Mary and I were involved in a terrible death fatality accident on May 27th in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. If you missed that Blog entry you can read it by clicking this link…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4Eh

I was sitting a mere six feet from the unfortunate man who was killed. An experience like that gives a person a whole new perspective of life. Each day becomes so precious. Be sure to tell those of your family and friends how much you care about and love them. They are your most precious possessions.

Mary returned home to California June 19th for a July 4th family reunion. Once there, she started having medical problems apparently resulting from the accident. She has been away from me since that time. Right now she’s enjoying the holiday season with her family. She has purchased her airline ticket to rejoin me here in Harlingen on January 3rd.

She recently published her Christmas letter. If you have not seen it, you can read it now…

Today, I begin my Christmas Cards. Since re-cooping from the May 27^th accident has taken over my life, I have very little news to impart.

From January through May, Jim and I did our usual trekking around the country side, being perpetual tourists. Our plan was to spend most of the year in New Mexico, a state he had not visited, in-depth, given his many years on the road.

We visited Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, numerous desert ruins, petroglyphs, desert hikes, saw a lot of cactus, and old mines and mining towns. (Drank some good beer.) We crossed into Mexico at six different border crossings through Arizona and New Mexico. At Columbus, New Mexico we experienced a Cabalgata where the Sheriff of Luna County met the Sheriff across the border and invited a cavalcade of horseback riding caballeros to cross into New Mexico for a fiesta to celebrate their common heritage. It was a wonderful event of great fellowship with our Mexican neighbors.

Traveling about, I learned so much about the prolific Native American tribes throughout the west, Navajo, O’ddham Papago, Zuni, all antecedents of the Anasazi ancient people. Beautiful people, interesting traditions, great jewelry makers, many historical Native sites, native heroes and kids.

Near Albuquerque, a high point was participating in a balloon fest and celebration of our nations veterans. Life on the road is interesting and rewarding no matter where we go and who we meet.

The accident happened in Canyon de Chelly and Jim and I feel lucky to be alive. One man died, and the rest of us were injured, many more seriously than us. The trouble with an accident like this one is you don’t realize the extent of your injuries until the pain medications are all gone and then you find out you can’t do the things you used to. I also had to have surgery that may or may not be related to the accident. Opinion on that varies from one doctor to another.

The benefit of being home for six months has allowed me time to tackle projects put off more years than I care to admit. Some genealogy, transcribing notes from old trips, getting sprinkling systems renewed, my house painted, mature trees pruned and stabilized. Had work done on my trusty truck and a new battery pack for the Prius. I’m back on the road and driving.

We are all grateful for family and friends and all the good things life brings us. We are so very, very fortunate. I’m looking forward to Christmas and flying back to the Motor Home on January 3^rd. It is cold here and Jim is complaining about the heat in Texas. (Hard to keep a weather wimp happy.)

We will start our second (for me) circumnavigation of the United States. Number six for Jim. We’ll start from the remote tip of Texas, at Harlingen. I look forward to exploring the gulf coast. Mardi Gras in February in Galveston, Texas. Visiting Karen and Glen in Virginia, Jim’s family in Connecticut, and his many friends on the East Coast. Then, a different route home than the one we took in 2010.

May your Christmas be perfect. Enjoy the season. Don’t forget to share something with those less fortunate. And, above all, hug tight your loved ones and value the things in life you can’t buy

Cheers, Mary

We hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday season!

Mary and Jim

My Current Location Near Yuma, Arizona…

About 12 miles north of Yuma, Arizona is a small parcel…about 5 acres…of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land where RVers can park for free while visiting the Yuma area. Yuma has dozens of RV parks where one can stay for 35+ dollars a day…but free is good.

My ex-Singles RV group has parked here for a number of years during the Christmas/New Year’s Day period. They are here now so I’ve had a chance to see some old friends even though I’ve elected not to join their gathering. Another reason RVers like this spot is because, daily, the VFW has a band from 2 to 6 PM, that plays good old country and western music that draws a good crowd. In addition, on Christmas Day, the VFW hosted a great meal of ham and all the fixings for only a $5 donation or for free if you brought a dish. I paid the $5 because I do not like to cook. They also have a similar meal on New Year’s Day.

The weather this year has been a little cool…in the 60′s. But, starting today, the long-range forecast is in the 70′s. New Year’s Day current forecast is for sunny and 75 degrees. Right on!…says the Weather Wimp…that’s me according to my life-partner Mary. She’s currently at home enjoying the holidays with her family. She’s scheduled to join me once again in about three weeks.

Here’s what the place looks like…

First a Google Earth view looking from above. This image was taken on September 30, 2006 so the lot appears empty but for three RV’s. The little round spots with a dot in the middle are creosote bushes…found everywhere in the desert southwest.

I’ve identified the adjacent VFW location. I stay a lot at VFW’s but I’m told county regulations do not allow it at this location. I’ve also identified my location with an “x”. Also identified  are where I took below photo’s 1,2 and 3. In these photos I’ve highlighted my location with a yellow marker. You can see enlarged views by clicking on the photos and an even larger view by clicking on the photo once again…

In photo #1, the entrance is just to the left of the stop sign. I’m located along the southerly fence line…tends to be quieter here…

Photos #2 and 3 were taken from atop a small rise…probably about 25 feet above the site elevation which is about 288 feet above sea level…

Here’s a panorama shot…

Like many places I travel these days…the number of RV’s is less. A few years back…this site would be crammed with more than twice as many as there is now. You’d be lucky to find a spot if you came in today, years ago. A long-time friend from the singles group told me 10 years ago they would draw about 150 RV’s. This year they have 58 registered. Quite a difference.

I’ve never particularly liked this location. It tends to be crowded, windy, dusty and noisy because of the vehicle traffic on Highway 95 and the railroad on the other side of the highway. The BLM regulations allow a 14 day stay before one has to move along. At 35+ dollars a day in an RV park…that comes to around $500. Despite the negatives here as identified above…free is good!

Here’s a photo from my location about one hour before sunrise…

and the same shot about five minutes after the sun dipped below the horizon with the VFW in the foreground…

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

A Slice Of Life…

from Thousand Trails RV Resort in Thousand Palms, California.

Yesterday I took my camera on my 45 minute morning walk and snapped a few photos. Here are ten which you may click upon to see enlarged views…

Lots of folks in the Christmas spirit…

Some folks bring along an extra ride…

This guy wins the award for the smallest rig…

This guy wins the award for the longest rig…I paced him off at 88 feet long! When I tow the Ford Bronco II behind our motorhome…I run 46 feet. This guy is almost double my length!!!

And finally my parking spot…

The tall Date Palm trees are not Christmas trees…but they are still nice.

Average daily high temperature this time of the year is 69 degrees and night-time lows about 46 degrees…better than most of the other areas of the country! The nice weather is the main reason we’re all here.

Here’s an interesting comment about our current times. I’ve been stopping here about the same time of year for about 10 years. The park has 445 sites and in the past only about six vacant sites might be found on any given day. This year seemed different…so as I took my normal morning walk I counted the empty spaces. I counted 61…about ten times the normal vacancy rate at this time of year. Interesting.

In other news…

I’ll be departing the park later this morning. I’ll head about 75 miles to the southeast and visit some friends at Slab City for a couple of days.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Meat Pies!

Jim says:

Two days ago I shared with you the story of a New England Food Feast. In that post I told how my cousin Bob and his wife Donna surprised me with a gift of a French Meat Pie. In the photo below, it’s the larger of the two pies.

What I didn’t tell you that day was that we also stopped at a friend of theirs by the name of Dave who makes Portuguese Meat Pies. That’s the smaller of the pies in the below photo. We bought four of these pies from Dave.

Meat Pies

On Monday we decided to enjoy a meal of these pies with Bob and Donna. The French Meat Pie was delicious, but we all agreed that the Portuguese Meat Pie had an even better taste because of the spices used by Dave. As a matter of fact, the Portuguese Meat Pie tasted much like the French Meat Pie my mother used to make when I was a child.

The French Meat Pie is a Christmas traditional meal. When I was young, all of the related families would gather at one location on Christmas Eve to see Santa Claus bring all the gifts. All the women made a meat pie…each had their own recipe…so each pie would taste slightly different from the others. My cousin Jeanette told me two days ago that my mother’s pie was the best of them all.

Mary LOVED the meat pies!

Yesterday we departed Bob and Donna’s home after a great visit of several days. We are planning to return to visit with them again for several days in late July to enjoy the annual Portuguese Festival held in New Bedford every year.

Bob & Donna Parker

Thanks Bob and Donna for a great visit. See you again soon!In other news…
Today we will take the motorhome and Bronco on the 40 minute ferry ride to the island of Martha’s Vineyard for a one week stay.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com